What is this?

The Detroit Youth Monologue Slam (DYMS) is an educationally enriching theatrical performance talent competition that is open to young actors ages 21 and under who live in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties. Youth participants must also be currently enrolled in grade school, college, or university to participate. Any youth who meet the above residential requirement, school enrollment requirements, and are interested in the theatrical performance arts are encouraged to apply. The competition is completely free and was designed to provide aspiring young actors with a professional competitive experience in an educationally enriching environment.

What is a "monologue"?

We define a monologue as: “A speech from a play or film delivered by a single actor alone in performance”. Within the competition young actors will perform memorized monologues around 1 - 2 minutes in length within 3 different phases for top honors.

Who can apply?

Any young actor age 21 and under, meeting the Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb County, MI residential requirement, enrolled in grade school, college, or university, and involved in the theatrical performance arts is encouraged to apply.

How does it work?

The competition is broken into 3 phases:

PHASE 1 : AuditionEligible Youth have until the Deadline of Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 at 11:59pm, to submit the brief registration application on our website and attach a link to a YouTube video of them performing one of the pre-selected audition monologues listed. The audition monologue does not need to be memorized, and the video does not need to be professionally shot. Youth can use a computer, digital camera, or smart phone to record their audition and upload it to YouTube. Tips about creating a successful video audition can be found on our APPLICATION CHECKLIST when you click onAPPLY NOW.

PHASE 2: TrainOn August 5th and 6th all youth who submitted an application will be notified via email whether or not they were selected to move forward in the competition. This year's training phase will be held in a 1 week intensive from August 13th -20th. During the weeklong intensive, the cohort of semi-finalists will receive professional acting coaching from Michigan based actors/directors at The Carr Center in Downtown Detroit and LaShelle's School of Dance in Oak Park,MI. With the aid of their professional acting coach, each Semi-Finalist must learn and memorize two new monologues for the final phase of the competition. The dates for the coaching sessions have all been pre-scheduled and it is very important that all Semi-Finalists and Parents/Guardians make themselves available with reliable transportation arrangements for FULL PARTICIPATION. Please indicate any conflicts you may have in your application.

The coaching dates/times are as follows:

Saturday August 13, 2016 10am-6pm

Sunday August 14, 2015 2pm-6pm

Monday August 15, 2016 4:30pm-9pm

Wednesday August 17, 2016 4:30pm-9pm

Friday August 19, 2016 4:30pm -9pm

Saturday August 20, 2016 10am - 2pm (Dress Rehearsal)

PHASE 3: CompeteThe Finale Competition will be held on Sunday August 21, 2016 at 5:00pm at The Carr Center in Downtown Detroit. All Semi-Finalists will need to arrive by 3:00pm.The competition will be broken into two rounds. In the first round all of the Semi-Finalists will perform one monologue from the repertoire they worked on during the training session. A professional judging panel will then select 5 Semi-Finalists to move on to the second round as a Finalists. The remaining 5 Finalists will then compete with a second monologue for the judges to award someone top honors as The Detroit Youth Monologue Slam Grand Champion.

What's the point of this?

The program provides the selected cohort of youth Semi-Finalists with completely free professional acting training. Also, during Phase 2 of the competition the Semi-Finalists will each receive a brief media training session and be filmed for video features for the final competition. At the end of the competition all Semi-Finalists will receive a copy of their video features as well as professionally shot performance footage of their monologue(s) to aid them in creating a professional acting reel. Lastly, the overall winner of the competition will receive the title of The Detroit Youth Monologue Champion which includes a prize package containing $400 cash!!!

How do I get started?

Check out the pre-selected monologues and the application check-list so you can complete your online application correctly.

Three important things to remember when applying are as follows:

All applicants will need a *Competition Manager*. For applicants 18 and under, this a parent/guardian who can receive all the important information about the competition as you progress through the different phases. For applicants over 18, your *Competition Manager* can be a parent, guardian or supporter who is over 18 years of age and can serve as an emergency contact for you. When you complete the application you will need to list a name, relationship to you, and telephone number of your *Competition Manager*.

Each applicant must submit a YouTube link of them performing one of the preselected monologues on our website. These monologues can be found on the APPLY NOW page. You will also find tips and examples of what we consider to be a successful audition video on our APPLICATION CHECKLIST page.

If you have any conflicts with any of the intensive dates please indicate that within the application. We may be able to work around some conflicts. However applicants with full availability will be given greater consideration for a semi-finalist spot.

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